The accidental introduction of foreign material into an eye may often lead to temporary or even permanent sight impairment and possibly total loss of sight. Troublesome eye infections are also quite painful and may, if left untreated, lead to permanent damage to the sight. The irrigation of an injured or infected eye with an appropriate solution such as lactated Ringers IV solution, is known to be effective in initiating treatment and relieving pain.
More specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,340 to Morgan discloses an eye irrigation system wherein irrigation solution is fed from a container through a tube to a sclera lens that is positioned over the cornea of an injured eye. The solution serves to provide a continuous lavage over the surface of the eyeball which relieves pain and washes foreign material from the eye.
While this device has been particularly effective in treating eye injuries and eye infections, it does suffer a number of drawbacks. More particularly, the outflow of solution from the eye must be absorbed with toweling. Unfortunately, any movement of the toweling in an area of an injured eye may result in the inadvertent subjecting of a patient to undesired trauma. Additionally, it should be appreciated that the irrigation process may be a lengthy one lasting 24 hours or more. Accordingly, an attendant must be available to check the toweling and be sure that the irrigation solution is being absorbed throughout this period. This, of course, is a time consuming, labor intensive job that adds significant expense to the treatment procedure.
Recognizing these difficulties, research efforts have culminated in the development of an eye irrigating/washing apparatus in the form of a goggle as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,599 to Thomas. The apparatus disclosed in Thomas includes an eye cup that is positioned over the eye so as to form a liquid confining chamber adjacent the eye. More particularly, skin above and below the eye is drawn away from the eye with the eye cup being pushed against the skin so that the rim of the cup applies sufficient pressure to hold the eye open. Eye wash is delivered to the chamber by inlets and an appropriate outlet is provided that connects to a conduit that drains the wash from the eye to a receiving receptacle.
While this device provides effective eye irrigation, it also is not without its drawbacks. More particularly, the device is difficult to properly position for effective operation. It should be appreciated that time lost in the positioning of the device may be critical in preventing permanent injury to the sight of the patient. It should also be appreciated that movement of the head of the patient or any inadvertent bumping of the device is prone to cause the cup to become unseated, resulting in solution flowing out from around the rim of the cup over the face of the patient. Further, even when seated properly, some solution is prone to flow through the border between the rim and the face of the patient particularly near the outer edge of the eye. Accordingly, a need is identified for an improved irrigation system and, more particularly, an irrigation solution collection device. Preferably, the collection device should also have sufficient versatility to be useful for other medical and dental applications.